The Horizontal Oak: A Life in Nature by Polly Pullar

Author:Polly Pullar [Pullar, Polly]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781780277806
Google: zBvmzgEACAAJ
Publisher: Birlinn
Published: 2022-07-21T20:29:31+00:00

A kestrel for a knave – so this little falcon was seen as worthless and certainly did not warrant the effort of falconry training according to the old book. Even so, kestrels are sometimes used for displays by falconry centres, but are seldom widely flown to the lure. Using basic falconry techniques gleaned from a more recent book on the subject, I am able to train my bird to return to me for small pieces of meat when I whistle, and I can let it fly free as I go around the farm. I am absorbed in my new charge, the pain of Dad’s departure eased by its need for my constant attention, and its companionship. It seems to need me as much as I need it. It consumes me. It comes in the car, and it comes when I visit friends. By autumn, a bluish tinge begins to show as tail and head feathers alter gradually. My bird is a male.

I had read Barry Hines’ classic novel A Kestrel for a Knave during my teens and read it again soon after Sorrel’s arrival, for I’m interested in the relationship between the boy and the bird, and also want to see how he trained it. But the part where the bird is brutally killed is too much to bear. I’m shocked by the fact that even though I know it is coming, I’m devastated to read it again. Things are so raw; Sorrel is my vital crutch and I nurture him with all I have.

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